Various batteries, including lithium-ion, lead acid and nickel-metal hydride variants, may be configured to supplement or supplant conventional internal combustion engines (ICEs) for automotive and related transportation applications. The ability to passively store energy from stationary and portable sources, as well as from recaptured kinetic energy provided by the vehicle and its components, makes batteries (in general) and rechargeable batteries (in particular) ideal to serve as part of a propulsion system for cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and related vehicular platforms. In one form suitable for automotive applications, the batteries are shaped as a generally thin rectangular cell with positive and negative voltage terminals emanating therefrom; several such batteries may typically be combined into larger assemblies—including modules that in turn can be formed into a complete system known as a battery pack—to generate the desired power output.